Ireland Women Finish Eighth In Hong Kong

The Ireland Women warmed up for the next week's China leg of the IRB Women's Sevens World Series by competing in the Hong Kong Sevens tournament on Friday.

Jon Skurr's side made a strong start at Hong Kong Football Club with new cap Amee-Leigh Murphy Crowe running in a hat-trick of tries in the pool opener against Singapore.

Ireland secured a 31-0 victory over Singapore, with Nikki Caughey beating a tackle and racing in for the first try inside two minutes which she converted herself.

The speedy Murphy Crowe charged through from her own 22 for her first try, following good work by Caughey and the hard-working Susan Vaughan.

Murphy Crowe added her second soon after and the Clanwilliam clubwoman, one of the players who came through the IRFU's talent identification programme, completed her hat-trick just after the half-time hooter.

The Irish girls profited from another quick turnover as Murphy Crowe was fed out wide and she evaded two defenders on her way to the try-line.

26-0 in front at the break, Ireland tagged on a fifth try early in the second half when another of the squad's newcomers, Martina McCarthy, slipped out of a tackle and darted over halfway to touch down.

In their second and final pool game, Ireland took on Japan and they edged into an early lead thanks to a second minute try from McCarthy.

She showed good pace on an arcing run from inside her own half to score to the left of the posts with Caughey missing the difficult conversion.

Blackrock's Katie Fitzhenry had a busy presence around the pitch in the scrum half role, and Ireland managed to absorb some Japanese pressure before pouncing for a second breakaway score.

Fitzhenry used scrum ball to send Caughey charging up the right wing, she held off a defender and popped an inviting pass back for Niamh Ni Dhroma of Buccaeers to canter in behind the posts.

That gave Ireland a 12-0 buffer, but crucially the Japanese struck for a try just before half-time as the Irish defence finally gave way.

Japan grew in confidence as they dominated both possession and territory in the second half and they pieced together four more tries as Ireland's challenge petered out.

Skurr's charges were made to pay for some costly turnovers in and around their 22 and a couple of missed tackles out wide allowed the Japanese to build score after score.

The 27-12 defeat was a disappointing finish to Pool D for Ireland, with the result setting up a Plate semi-final against Kazakhstan.

Early injuries in that game hampered Ireland's chances and the strong-running Kazakhs took the game on a 24-14 scoreline.

The girls in green produced a more consistent performance against Brazil in the 7th-8th place play-off, but the South Americans capitalised on some turnovers to emerge with a 20-7 win.

Canada went through the tournament unbeaten, defeating France 24-0 in the final, with the Japanese losing 28-10 to South Africa in the 3rd-4th place play-off.

Over 3,000 fans turned out at Irish Independent Park on Wednesday to cheer on the Ireland squad as they continued their preparations for the upcoming Rugby World Cup. Check out our photo galleries from a very enjoyable day in Cork.

The countdown is on to the Women's Sevens Dublin tournament in UCD on August 22-23. Anthony Eddy, IRFU Director of Rugby Sevens & Women's Rugby, previews what promises to be an exciting couple of days.

Tickets for the tournament start at 5 euro, with children free, and are available to buy here - http://www.ticketmaster.ie/Womens-Sevens-Series-tickets/artist/2134381?tm_link=artist_artistvenue_module.

The countdown is on to the Women's Sevens Dublin tournament in UCD on August 22-23. Anthony Eddy, IRFU Director of Rugby Sevens & Women's Rugby, previews what promises to be an exciting couple of days.

Tickets for the tournament start at 5 euro, with children free, and are available to buy here - http://www.ticketmaster.ie/Womens-Sevens-Series-tickets/artist/2134381?tm_link=artist_artistvenue_module.

Jenny Murphy talks about the progress made by the Ireland Women's Sevens team and their pool draw for the upcoming Women's Sevens Dublin tournament in UCD on August 22-23.

Tickets for the tournament start at 5 euro, with children free, and are available to buy here - http://www.ticketmaster.ie/Womens-Sevens-Series-tickets/artist/2134381?tm_link=artist_artistvenue_module.

Conor Murray and Tommy Bowe speak to Irish Rugby TV about their Rugby World Cup preparations and thank the thousands of supporters who came out to see the players at the open training session at the Sportsground.

Ireland captain Paul O'Connell gives his verdict on the team's new Rugby World Cup jersey and talks about his move to French club Toulon. Ireland's RWC 2015 range is available to pre-order now from http://shop.irishrugby.ie.

Anthony Eddy, IRFU Director of Rugby Sevens, talks about the target of a top three finish for both the Ireland Men and Women in Lisbon this weekend, as they continue on their quests for Olympic qualification.

Tom Daly, who recently captained the Ireland Men's Sevens team to the European Division C and B titles, is looking forward to playing in this weekend's Rugby Europe Olympic Repechage tournament in Lisbon, Portugal.

Ireland will host the 'Women's Sevens Dublin' at UCD on Saturday, August 22 and Sunday, August 23. Tournament director Garrett Tubridy and Ireland stars Lucy Mulhall, Jenny Murphy and Louise Galvin speak about their excitement ahead of the World Rugby Women's Sevens Series qualifier.

Coach Allen Clarke and stand-in captain Billy Holland answer questions from the media following Emerging Ireland's 45-12 victory over Georgia in the final round of their successful Tbilisi Cup campaign.

Emerging Ireland coach Allen Clarke speaks about his side's five-try 33-7 win over Uruguay in the Tbilisi Cup and the first half injury to captain Rhys Ruddock. They wrap up the tournament against hosts Georgia on Sunday.

Speaking about the floods that occurred following the Tbilisi Cup's first round, Emerging Ireland team manager Joey Miles said: "A natural event like that, a tragedy like that puts the game of rugby into perspective. We express our regrets to the Georgian people and the Georgian Union for the terrible tragedy that they had."

David O'Reilly from the IRFU Charitable Trust's Corporate Patrons Committee speaks about the new scheme which provides businesses with unique networking opportunities and provides a platform for companies to effectively activate their CSR programmes. For further information, please contact Linda Black of the Charitable Trust - telephone (01) 6473866 or email: linda.black@irfu.ie / http://www.irishrugby.ie/news/34728.php.